EDGEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS NOTES (look for EHS MEMORIES)

1955

Martin T. (Tom) Meaney earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He is currently retired and living in Dubuque, Iowa.

1958

Deanna J. Huston Finley is a retired R.N. since 2005 and worked at American Girl as an Order Processor until 2021. Deanna has four children, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She is on her class reunion committee.

Barbara A. Hauptmann Shackelton was awarded the prestigious Gold Key Award for 50 years of service from Soroptimist International of Riverside, a non-profit volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. She has volunteered in support of children in two hospitals, women athletes at UC Riverside, the Junior League of Riverside, Young Life, National Charity League and the Riverside Public Library Foundation. At graduation from Edgewood College in 1962, she was recruited to teach in Riverside, California, and has lived there since. EHS MEMORY: “I first experienced community service as a student at EHS, learning then how personally satisfying serving is and what great friendships can be formed when working together for a cause.”

1959

Jeffry J. Hill Sr. is retired after a 33-year career as a TWA pilot. He and wife Sharon have three sons and six granddaughters and live in Woodstock, Illinois.

Mark D. Schmitz attended General Motors Institute and worked as Director of Dealership Parts and Service Operations for GM. David is a widower and lives in Modesto, California.

1961

Thomas E. Richtsmeier, M.D., retired as a cardiologist at Wenatchee Valley Clinic. He and Jean, his wife of 45 years, live in East Wenatchee, Washington. With the kids grown, current interests are hiking, gardening, and genealogy. Tom says he was in Madison, Jefferson St., and Edgewood

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HS last fall: “all looked pretty good.”

1962

Sr. Joan E. Duerst, O.P., volunteers for Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality and Solidarity, an interfaith, non-partisan organization that unites congregations, non-profit organizations and individuals to build a better community.

1963

Stephen R. Moore earned a B.S. in economics and an MBA in finance. He has worked as a financial planner at Partners Capital Management, Inc. Stephen and his wife Ellen have two daughters and live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1966

Jane E. Gallagher Grace is a retired nurse with Madison General Hospital School of Nursing (Meriter). Her volunteer work includes Salvation Army Womens Auxilliary, Hadassah of Greater Houston and St. Cecilia Catholic Church. She and her husband live in Houston, Texas, and they have a daughter Alessandra and granddaughter Evelyn. EHS MEMORIES: “I loved daily life at EHS; rushing from one class to another, greeting friends on the steps as we navigated our way. Cheerleading was such fun. Supporting sports teams. Making life-long friendships.”

1967

Anne Marie Wildeman Harmel is retired and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.

1968

Jane (Janie) A. M. Sweeney Lynaugh is a self employed RE broker and appraiser. She has three kids and seven grandkids and lives in the Madison area.

1971

Shelley A. Carey is president of Windswept Travel in Plantation, Florida.

Suzanne M. Reuschlein Gruen earned a bachelor’s degree with high honors in interior design, and an MSSW in 2003, both from UW-Madison. She is a licensed clinical social worker at the Samaritan Counseling Center in Monona, Wisconsin, specializing in faith-based counseling, trauma recovery and relationships. Her volunteer work includes deaconess at High Point Church, speaking on mental health topics and she has assisted church staff with developing faith-based counseling programs that are also psychologically informed.

EHS MEMORIES: “My favorite memories include Mixed Chorus and being a dancer in three musicals. I especially enjoyed my role as Miss New York in ‘High Button Shoes.’ When I was a freshman at UW-Madison, one of my professors told me that all of his best students came from Edgewood.”

1973

Joan C. (Jo) Balch Freitag earned a B.S. in journalism from UW-Madison and an M.A. in communications from Univ. of Illinois. She currently lives in Springfield, Illinois. EHS MEMORIES: “Working on the creative writing publications in 1972 and 1973.”

1974

Rose M. Faber Collins earned a B.A. and MLS from UW-Madison. Now retired, she lived in Lake Barrington, Illinois, with her husband Larry.

David J. Ferwerda owns a home remodeling company in the Madison area and is a longtime hockey referee.

1978

Debra A. Hansen, works seasonally at the Minnentonka Resort & Thumderbird Gift Shop in Copper Harbor, Michigan.

1979

Michelle A. Behnke, past president of State Bar of Wisconsin, is a candidate for American Bar Association presidentelect for the 2024-2025 term. Michelle served as ABA treasurer from 2017-2020 and is currently chair of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. She is an Ex-Officio Member of the American Bar Foundation Board and a Wisconsin Life Fellow.

1981

Thomas M. Hazen recently retired from General Mills in the Twin Cities after a long career as an IT analyst. He travels to racetracks around the country, driving and instructing in exotic supercars such edgewoodhs.org

CLASS NOTES (look for EHS MEMORIES)

as the Lamborghini Huracan, Ferrari 488 GTB, and Porsche GT3 RS, as a senior lead instructor with Xtreme Xperience, a fast-growing company he has worked for part-time since 2014.

1985

Chandler R. Zillman celebrated his 28th year as a pilot for American Airlines in May. He is currently flying the Boeing 787 series aircraft out of Chicago O’Hare airport to international destinations. Chandler publishes and produces the world’s largest training database (online) for pilots training to become qualified on the Boeing 787 aircraft (787studyresources.com) and he continues to actively produce training materials for pilots of American Airlines and airlines of the world operating the 787. Chandler was recently recognized by the U.S. Army’s Flight Standards Detachment for Outstanding Service and Commitment to the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter training community. He retired in 2016 after nearly 27 years in the Army National Guard.

1986

Greta G. Austin is chair and professor in the Religion Department at University of Puget Sound.

Kimberly (Kim) M. Wilke-Lin and husband Rudy have two daughters who graduated from UW Vet School and University of Miami Law School (on the same day!), as well as a son in real estate.

1987

Richard (Rick) D. McKinley was ranked third highest “Most Loans Closed” in Wisconsin for the 2022 calendar year by The 2023 Scotman’s Guide. Rick is a Mortgage Loan Officer for the UW Credit Union.

1988

Jeremiah P. Cook works for DHS at the Job Center to help people get access to health care and food. He and his wife and daughter live in Stoughton.

1989

Susan M. Becker is a special education teacher at Vel Phillips Memorial High School in Madison and part-time realtor.

2000

Corin C. Rowley Sullivan shares that after 15 years spent raising her children and working in the business sector, she felt called to the nursing profession. She spent a year working through pre-requisite courses before being accepted into UW-Milwaukee’s Direct Entry Master of Nursing program in 2021. In January 2023, she completed the pre-licensure requirements through this accelerated and rigorous program and passed the Wisconsin state board exam (NCLEX). Corin began her first job as a Registered Nurse at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in March. She expects to graduate with her Master of Nursing in May 2024. She and husband Robert have two children and live in Whitefish Bay.

2001

Anthony L. Brown II is co-founder of the Montana Area Music Association and host of two YouTube series, “SciShow Kid” and “SciShow Psych.” He recently released his seventh studio album, “Jump Start the Soul: Revived.” He and his wife Bonnie recently moved back to Wisconsin.

Patrick J. Michaels graduated from UW-Madison in 2005 and earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 2015 from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He has worked as a clinical psychologist in Tennessee and is currently the clinical director at Rogers Behavioral Health in Nashville, a Wisconsin-based specialty mental health care nonprofit specializing in treating OCD, eating disorders, trauma, depression, addiction and more. Patrick and his wife Jackie have two children.

2002

Jeffrey A. Beckmann is President and Owner of J&K Security Solutions in Madison, founded by his parents in 1985. Jeffrey entered the Marine Corps directly after graduating from EHS and proudly served from 2002-2006 including two tours during Operation Iraqi Freedom in which he took part in 60+ combat missions in the Iraqi Theater. He graduated from UW-Milwaukee in 2010 with degrees in Finance and Accounting. He founded the “Raise For DAIS” Charity Golf Outing benefiting Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, which has raised more than $1M.

2004

Kelly A. O’Keefe Nelson owns a writing and editing business and lives in Verona with her husband and twin sons.

2005

David J. Porto is partner and general manager at Blue Plate Catering in Madison.

2006

Kevin L. Hampton has been curator at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum for 10 years, working on audience engagement including designing exhibits and developing public programs.

2010

Noah T. Kachelski married Katherine Karkow of Manchester, Iowa, on November 12, 2022, in Galena, Illinois. Adam J. Kachelski ’07 was his best man. The newlyweds live in Bettendorf, Iowa.

2013

Marina K. Kinney Alexander is a program operations manager at Adam’s Camp Colorado.

Amanda K. Kelm graduated from Augusta University (Medical College of Georgia) with a master’s degree of physician assistant. Amanda plans to work as a physician assistant in the field of orthopedics and sports medicine in the Atlanta area.

Natalie A. Meicher is a CPA at CFGI in Minneapolis. CFGI is a unique and highly specialized financial consulting firm that is strategically positioned to help companies through a range of routine and complex business scenarios.

Alex Witz ‘11 was married in Dallas, Texas, in January. Alex and his wife Christine live in Madison where Alex is attending UW Law School. Brothers Lee ‘16 and Ryan ‘20 were groomsmen